Luke grew up in Southwest Iowa as a Red Oak Tiger and attended Drake University.  Since graduation he has worked in the IT field where his passion still lies today.  He has many illustrious accomplishments, including completing a Half-Ironman in 2014, laying our basement floor no less than 3 times, shot a hole in one, is an Alum of the West Des Moines Leadership Academy and single-handedly painted the exterior of his first house pink!  His hobbies include golf, other outdoor sports, golf, camping, biking, volunteering and website work.  He likes hoppy beer, hanging out with his awesome nephews and traveling when time (and work) permit.  His favorite travel moments are 1) experiencing Cape Reinga in New Zealand-the sheer peacefulness of the location.  He has been there twice and many places since, yet it remains his favorite spot on earth.  2) In 2012, during a group trip, coming over the ridge of our hike and seeing Machu Picchu at sun rise.  (He also adds, "Dubuque was nice, the chapels are pretty.")

He is most looking forward to the adventure in Iceland and the most anticipated location he wants to see is the golf courses (or Godafoss). [Update:  Luke saw both!]

Since traveling with Kristi, Luke has drastically reduced his 'getting frisked at airports' rate.

Kristi grew up in Northwest Iowa just outside of Kingsley and also attended Drake University.  Kristi dabbled in a little math and history while in college and following graduation found herself in analytical roles to pay the bills.  She continues to avidly play sports year around, she remains active in her church, enjoys gardening (mostly flowers this year), and reading book after book.  Her current selection is The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Kristi's all-time favorite travel moments are 1)  Nepal-an unbelievable walk back in time; we were there shortly after the State Department lifted the travel warning after the military junta (She can't wait to go back and we have many, many stories about that segment of our trip.)  2)  AFRICAN SAFARI-She had been dreaming of this trip for years and in 2014 it came true.  We hiked the Volcanoes Mountains to observe a family of mountain gorillas-sheer feet away from us and followed that up with the Northern Circuit in Tanzania.  The first two days we accomplished seeing the big five and the remaining days kept unraveling surprises and awe.  She also can't wait to return here.  

She is most looking forward to tracking down the fallen Navy plane (Super DC-3) and getting her crampons on a glacier. [Update:  The pictures tell the story.]

Kristi and Luke have many things in common, some of which include: past experiences cutting wood, losing the head off golf clubs, eating pizza frequently, jumping out of planes, watching classic childhood movies like Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and Christmas Vacation.  We also share the skill to move very quickly and efficiently through airports.  We both obviously love the outdoors, travel, and adventure.  

Things we don't have in common:  gray hair, completing a triathlon, reading aloud, running more than 10 miles consecutively, the color brown and the ability to sleep past 7 am.